Worker Burned Badly In Explosion At Louisiana Gas Plant

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Plains Gas Solutions LLC in Eunice, La. following a February explosion and fire that left a worker severely burned. The proposed penalties total $111,000. OSHA has issued one willful and seven serious violations against the company, which produces liquid natural gas through a cryogenic process. OSHA says cryogenic liquids were improperly routed, as part of a re-starting process, through equipment not rated to withstand extreme cold temperatures. That resulted in the explosion and fire. Plains Gas Solutions is a subsidiary of Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline LP, which employs about 3,800 workers in Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The company had 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings.